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Kura Oncology drug helps contain bladder cancer in patients

Kura Oncology Inc. said its lead product candidate tipifarnib helped halt disease progression in bladder cancer patients whose disease returned or was resistant to treatment.

The medicine helped prevent the disease from advancing for at least six months in urothelial carcinomas patients that carry HRAS mutations, meeting the primary objective of a phase 2 clinical trial. The company evaluated the medicine in 13 patients who had previously been treated with chemotherapy at least once, of which five saw their tumors shrink.

Of these five patients, four experienced progression-free survival of greater than 6 months.

The American Cancer Society estimates approximately 80,470 new cases of bladder cancer in the U.S. for 2019, and Kura estimates that more than 5% of urothelial carcinoma patients carry the HRAS mutation. But despite the approval of checkpoint inhibitors in recent years, the treatment of advanced urothelial carcinoma in the second-line setting remains an unmet need.

"This study represents the fourth clinical proof-of-concept for tipifarnib and the second proof-of-concept in a HRAS mutant solid tumor indication. ... Based on these results, we are currently evaluating next steps for tipifarnib in this indication and look forward to the presentation of the full data set at an upcoming medical meeting," Antonio Gualberto, head of development and chief medical officer of Kura Oncology, said in a statement.